Source: Sara, By Sara Carter, October 25, 2022
Newly released data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows 98 foreign nationals on the terrorist watchlist were encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border between the ports of entry in the fiscal year of 2022. That’s a tremendous increase up from 15 in fiscal 2021.
“The Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS)—also known as the ‘watchlist’—is the U.S. government’s database that contains sensitive information on known or suspected terrorists (KSTs),” says CBP, “but has evolved over the last decade to include additional individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watchlisted individuals.”
The 98 encounters with individuals on the terrorist watchlist is the most “in that category in any of the last six fiscal years.”
In order to understand the severity of this information, here are the numbers for the previous six years:
In fiscal 2017, the Border Patrol encountered 2 on the terrorist watchlist between the ports of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2018, it encountered 6. In 2019, it encountered 0. In 2020, it encountered 3. In 2021, it encountered 15.
CNS News reports, “The Border Patrol’s 98 encounters with people on the terrorist watchlist between the ports of entry in fiscal 2022 was more than six times the 15 it encountered last year and more than 32 times the 3 it encountered in fiscal 2020.”
As for encounters, fiscal 2021 the CBP had 103 with people on the terrorist watchlist at the ports of entry on U.S.-Mexico border. In fiscal 2020, it had 72; in fiscal 2019, it had 280; in fiscal 2018, it had 155; in fiscal 2017, it had 116.
As for the Northern border, in fiscal 2022, the Office of Field Operations encountered 313 on the terrorist watchlist trying to enter the country at a port of entry, but the Border Patrol did not encounter any individuals trying to enter the country across the Northern border between the ports of entry.
“The 313 encounters with people on the terrorist watchlist at Northern ports of entry was the most in any of the last six years. In fiscal 2017, OFO encountered 217 at ports of entry on Northern border; in fiscal 2018, it encountered 196; in fiscal 2019, it encountered 258; in fiscal 2020, it encountered 124; in fiscal 2021, it encountered 54.”
